LUIS FEITO

Luis Feito was born in Madrid, and attended the San Fernando School of Fine Art becoming Professor of Drawing there from 1950-54. He had his first solo exhibitions of abstract work in 1954 at the Galería Buchholz and the Galería Fernando Fe, both in Madrid. In 1955, he moved to Paris where his international career began with an exhibition at Galerie Arnaud. Jean-Robert Arnaud was to remain Feito’s loyal promoter for the next 25 years in that city.

Whilst in Paris, Feito remained in contact with other Spanish artists such as Manolo Millares and Antonio Saura with whom he would form the influential ‘El Paso’ [The Passage] group in Spain (1957-60). This group promoted informalism, the importance of the gesture rather than geometry and the pre-eminence of the plasticity of raw materials rather than concept. The dynamism of this young group introduced abstraction to Spain, and had a profound impact on European art that is still felt today.

Feito has divided his artistic career between Madrid, Paris, New York and Montreal. He is the recipient of numerous awards that reflect his international achievement. He represented Spain in the Venice Biennial in 1956 and 1958, and in 1960 won the David Bright Award of the XXX Biennial. Other awards include Knight Commander of the Order of the Arts, France (1993), Gold Medal of the Fine Arts, Spain (1998) and the Grand Prize AECA, Arco, Madrid (2002). His work can be found in the collections of many major art museums, including the Fine Arts Museum, Montreal; Guggenheim Foundation, New York; Museum of Modern Art, Paris; Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York; Modern Art Museum, Tokyo, and the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Solo exhibitions have included the Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal (1968), the Museum of Modern Art, Bilbao (1977), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Madrid (1988) and the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid (2002).

The artist has always travelled widely and been drawn to a rich variety of sources for his inspiration. In his studio he is surrounded by his important collection of objects from Africa and Asia and Native American Indian artefacts. It is perhaps the variety of his inspiration that allows him to constantly reinvigorate his work, whilst remaining true to his personal style.

Feito's early works, dating from 1953-55 where produce when Feito was living between Madrid and Paris. These beautiful and delicate pieces represent the artist’s first exploration of abstraction. This marked an important turning point in his career, as it was the beginning of a preoccupation with straight and curved lines, colour and space, that has continued until the present day. The French critic Jean Rousselot said of Feito at this time ‘I don’t believe that since the time of Miró has another artist appeared in Spain who has inundated non-figurative art with such a lyrical flame, with such a concrete and exact poetry’ (Rousselot, Arts-Paris Journal, March 1955).

In the late 50s and early 60s, Luis Feito created rich surfaces, often using sand to create texture, in monochromatic scale colours. The colours are sober yet the contrasts of texture and tone create a feeling of inner light. This ‘glow’ has been seen to express ‘that silent gentleness of the contemplative’ (Michel Ragon, Cahier d’Art, no. 14, “XX Siecle”, Paris, 1960). It was at this time that Feito exhibited at Arthur Tooth & Sons, London (1960) alongside other prominent contemporary Spanish artists such as Manolo Millares, Antonio Saura and Antoni Tàpies. He often divided the chromatic field in his paintings dramatically, using two contrasting areas in the composition. Later in the 60s, he even used two conjoined canvases in one composition, and introduced the new colour of yellow.

Feito's recent work shows an energy, intensity and passion for painting that is stronger than ever. The palette has been simplified to black and red. The dynamic red brushstrokes are reminiscent of oriental art, where an image is reduced to its core. As Feito has explained:

'La pintura oriental, China, Japón, India, es la esencia de la naturaleza, no busca la representación, sino la presencia. Un oriental no pinta una manzana, sino la esencia de una manzana'. [Oriental painting, from China, Japan and India, seeks to paint the essence of nature, not its representation, but its presence. An oriental does not paint an apple, but the essence of an apple.]